Kundur Island

Kundur Island is an island within the Riau Archipelago, part of the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia.^[1] It lies at about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Singapore, 76 kilometres (47 mi) southwest of Batam, 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of Great Karimun Island, 172 kilometres (107 mi) northwest of the Lingga Islands and 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Tanjung Pinang on Bintan Island. Kundur is actually the main island of an archipelago that has an area of about 795 square kilometres (307 sq mi), including the districts of Buru, Belat, Ungar and Selat Gelam with numerous minor surrounding islands.

The archipelago is separated from Great Karimun Island to the north by the Gelam Strait (Selat Gelam) and from the Moro Group of islands to the east by the Durian Stait (Selat Durian), although all these islands form parts of Karimun Regency. According to the 2010 Census population, the population of the islands was 67,090; the official estimate as at mid 2023 (including the adjacent smaller islands) was 91,463. As Kundur does not have an airport, all visitors arrive by ferry.

Most connections are with neighbouring islands, e.g. Tanjung Balai on Great Karimun Island, and mainland Sumatra. Direct ferry services to Singapore have been terminated because of decreasing profits, so travellers need to detour via Batam or Bintan.

There are seven districts covering the Kundur archipelago. Kundur Island comprises the districts of Kundur, Kundur Utara (North Kundur) and Kundur Barat (West Kundur). The smaller islands of the Kundur archipelago are comprised by the districts of Buru, Ungar, Belat and Selat Gelam (Gelam Strait); before 2018, the villages now constituting Selat Gelam District were part of Karimum District. The seven districts (kecamatan) comprise eight towns (kelurahan, identified by asterisks * in the table below) and 25 rural villages (desa), all listed below with their areas and their estimated populations as at mid 2024.

Pulau Kundur (Kundur Island itself) is the principal and most populated part of the archipelago. To the southeast are situated Pulau Ungar and Pulau Mandah, with the smaller Pulau Ngal and Pulau Perapos to their east. Pulau Panjang lies to the east of Kundur. To the northeast of Kundur are situated Pulau Belat, Pulau Degong and Pulau Tabias; further north are Pulau Papan and Pulau Buru, while further north still are Pulau Parit, Pulau Tulang and Pulau Lumut, all separated by the Gelam Strait from Great Karimun (and its outliers) even further north.

The biggest town on Kundur Island, Tanjung Batu is marked as the district centre (kota kecamatan) of the island. It is located at the southern tip of the island, and is the hub for most ferry businesses.

It is the town with most number of businesses and trading companies. It is also a popular starting/finishing point for cycling trips as well.

Its commercial street is Jalan Merdeka, just a stone's throw away from the port, but most of the shops are lined on the side of Jalan Kartini and Jalan Jendral Sudirman. Jalan Usman Harun is a temple street where it locates the Vihara Dharma Shanti which is a Buddhist temple. North to the end of Jalan J. Sudirman is a housing area called Batu Dua. Vehicles used in this towns include angkuts and ojeks.

Another town in the district of North Kundur (Kundur Utara). It is just a bit smaller than Tanjung Batu, and is also another popular starting/finishing point for cycling trips.

A third town at the northern tip of Kundur Island. It means "straits of youth" in Bahasa Indonesia.

A village on the south-east zone of Kundur Island.

A town located in the district of West Kundur (Kundur Barat). It is the town where the biggest hotel in Kundur Island, Hotel Taman Gembira, is located.

• Kundur travel guide from Wikivoyage